So today is Friday, July 1st. On Monday I went for an EKG, chest xray and bloodwork for surgical clearance. I knew that on Wednesday I would have to start my liquid diet. To prepare for this, I had to go for a two and a half hour class at the doctor's office with the dietician. I discovered that this liquid diet was really strict, and only 800 calories a day for two weeks! Trying to do this, pre-surgery, I knew might be my biggest challenge. This is what I can have each day:
3 8-oz. bottles of Boost Glucose Control (I bought all three flavors)
2 containers of light yogurt (I bought Yoplait "Thick and Creamy")
2 8-oz. servings of plain broth
2 half-cup servings of diet jello
And other than unlimited zero-calorie beverages, that is it! One saving grace is that I can have coffee with milk, or fat-free cream. So I can still have my Tim Hortons hazelnut coffee.
The purpose of this diet is to prepare for surgery. I will lose abdominal fat, which will make the surgery easier, and also the size of my liver will shrink, which will probably prevent surgery complications and simply make more room for the surgeon to move around.
I am on Day 3 of this diet. I won't lie. It's really hard. I want to backtrack and say that after the class on Tuesday, we all went out for my "Last Supper." We went to Famous Dave's and I got my favorite pork sandwich, and then we all shared a bread pudding for dessert. Later on, I had what might be my last (or at least for a long time) Reese's peanut butter cup, and probably my last Wild Cherry Pepsi. I thought about taking a picture, but anyway I looked at it, it just seemed kind of weird.
So the first day was the hardest. I really dislike the taste of the Boost, and I was overwhelmed by the fact that it was so many artificial sweeteners. I did it though, but I woke up in the middle of the night with really bad acid reflux, which I normally never have unless I eat something really ridiculous in the evening, like chips and salsa. It was 3:15 and I was hungry and irritated. I wasn't sure if I could have Tums, so I just drank some water and sat up, went on Facebook, listened to my voicemails, and pouted for awhile. I kind of had a sore throat too. But I went back to bed and did not sleep much. On that day I emailed the dietician a few times with questions and concerns. I hope that I didn't irritate her. But I figured it was better than calling, at least she could answer whenever she had time.
On the second day, my throat really hurt, and eventually I took my temp. and it was 99.8, and I was coughing. I had been sick about a month ago, the strep test had come back negative, so they just gave me a steroid shot (my uvula was swollen). I knew I couldn't get a steroid shot so close to surgery. I called the doctor's office and explained the situation. My doctor ended up calling in a z-pack for me. So I am praying, and if you are reading this please pray for me, that the antibiotic knocks this thing out and my surgery can go on as scheduled. We have a family vacation up north planned for two weeks after surgery, and I want that to go on, and I don't want to find out that I have to do this two-week diet again to prepare for a future date!!! On that day (yesterday actually), Julie got her hair cut and brows waxed. She looks SO cute! We then went to the hospital so I could have a test that checks my blood type, on the chance that I'd need a transfusion. We drove up Jefferson so the girls could see the view of the lake and the houses. Then we went to Meijer to get the prescription, and home. Also, during those two days, I found out that Camilla had been sent a letter inviting her to try out for competition tap and jazz, but we never received it, so I missed the parent meeting. But Cami is still allowed to come to the tryout/practices, which loosely coincide with Julie's summer competition practices. And my sister Patti, who is watching them for the few days during and after my surgery, so graciously agreed to taking them to the practices while they are with her. Camilla decided that she only would like to do tap, because as a family we agreed that we needed to cut back on a few things to make room for family time, exercise, friends, confirmation lessons, and just having some down time. So the girls are not doing jazz or lyrical at all. They are both keeping tap, ballet, hula (their favorite), and now competition classes that will start in December (assuming Cami is chosen). It will still be a full schedule, but a little less.
Oh! Back to the diet.... So anyway, on Day 2 I was totally unmotivated to stick with the diet because I was sick and felt nauseous from the first day. One thing I did was cut back on any EXTRA artificial sweeteners: gum, diet pop, etc. I use Stevia in my coffee, tea, and kool-aid, which does not cause any problems for me. I tried adding (after the dietician's okay) some spices to my broth to give it more flavor. I mixed the Boost with yogurt, froze it and made ice cream that wasn't too bad. The same continued for today. I WILL make it. I WILL be able to do this. On a separate post, I will list some of my recipes, for anyone that may read this someday who is maybe doing the same program through Dr. Hawasli's office, or some other doctor, and maybe it will help you get through it. :-)
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